Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Mae Harden and I write steamy contemporary romances with lots of humor and just a sprinkle of kink. For me, romance is about escapism. I love lighthearted romances and characters that communicate!!! I pride myself on my dirty-talking heroes, ridiculous meet-cutes, and solid banter. I love big, possessive men with marshmallowy insides and mouthy, relatable heroines.
My third book, Revved Up releases December 3rd.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Revved Up is the third book in my Sonoma Series. Each book in the series follows a different member of the Donovan family as they find their own happily ever after’s. From the first time I wrote Lukas into the earlier books, I knew I wanted an opposites attract situation for him. Parker has been evolving in my head for over a year so it was a relief to finally write this book!
Both characters are icebergs; there’s so much under the surface that they bring out in each other. In Revved Up, Lukas Donovan, biker, bad boy, and mouthy heart throb meets Parker, the seemingly sweet and innocent owner of an independent bookstore.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have young kids at home so I usually get up at three or four in the morning so I can write before they get up. It gets a lot harder to focus once my daughter starts up her distance learning and my four year old is playing race cars in the background.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Ruby Dixon. She writes sci-fi romance but for me, what sets her apart are her female characters. They’re all unique and fully-actualized human beings with flaws and complicated pasts.
What are you working on now?
I have a christmas novella in the works and book 4 of the Sonoma Series, Pent Up, is coming out in the spring. I have a couple other projects and novellas that I’m bouncing around on but those are much farther out.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
This question just made me groan and pull my own hair. I wish I had the answer, because life would be so much easier if I did! Promoting is hard! I love connecting with readers on Instagram. There’s a solid romance bookstagrammer contingency and I swear, they are the nicest people on the planet. It’s by far the most positive experience I’ve had.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Push yourself! Don’t sit on a dozen projects, waiting for “the right time” to publish them. Find an accountability buddy that writes in your genre. I have a couple authors that I talk to almost every day and having that support, and (often brutal) honesty is important. They’ll tell me when something sucks but they’re also my biggest cheerleaders when I get something right.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you want to read. Which seems obvious, right? But that’s the thing that pushed me to actually publish my work. I write the kind of books I love to read: lighthearted, dirty-talking escapism! No one is going to break up in my books just because they can’t be a grown-up and communicate. I want to read about smart, rational people that are irrationally in love. So that’s what I write.
What are you reading now?
Silas by Tilly Delane
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m finishing the Sonoma series in the summer of 2021. After that I have another contemporary series planned but the details are still top secret!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh my god that’s a mean question. Bound to the Battle God by Ruby Dixon, Pride and Prejudice, pretty much anything by Claire Kingsley
Author Websites and Profiles
Mae Harden Website
Mae Harden Amazon Profile
Mae Harden’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile